All posts filed under: Kitchen Staples

Holidays are synonymous with gatherings of family and friends, coming together about stories of the year past and laughs over shared memories. Quiet jazz plays in the background, setting the mood for the comfort food that is soon to be enjoyed. A comfort favorite in my family is savory pies – chicken pot pie and steak and stout pie to be specific. Take the hearty and rich flavors of a thick soup or stew, pair it with a buttery flaky crust, and it has the warmth and comfort of the holidays written all over it.

Yes we are fully embracing fall and I know sure well that you will be bombarded with pumpkin-this and pumpkin-that. In and effort to reduce my sugar consumption I am going cold turkey and giving up my sugary Starbucks daily drinks. There’s no lying that when their Pumpkin Spice Latte was release for fall I had 11 of them in the first week. Sure, I got them made with Starbucks’ new coconut milk, and always had them made half sweet, but there’s no kidding that I was sucking back 500 calories of pure sugar every morning. But I needed a substitute, and fast. I have a Nespresso espresso machine and milk frother that I LOVE so homemade lattes are totally possible. I’m proud to say this recipe beats the Starbucks artificially flavoured drinks for me. Sure, they take a little longer to make, but your waistline and blood sugar spike will thank you. These are totally vegan, made with almond milk, and homemade coconut cream as a topper instead of whipped cream. Also, the …

Make a big batch of pumpkin spice for the season. Trust me, you’ll thank yourself later. Think of how quickly you will be able to whip up Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Gingerbread cookies, Pumpkin Pie, and yes my absolute favourite: Pumpkin Cheesecake.

Myth #1: Granola is too difficult to make at home, so I try to pick out the best at the grocery store. Granola is as easy as you want to make it! It’s versatile enough that you can gather ingredients you already have in your pantry. (ie. oats, seeds, dried fruit, coconut etc.). Then, add in a little sweetener (honey, maple syrup, blended medjool dates, brown sugar etc.) and watch it crisp up in the oven for an hour. We’re not harvesting our own oats here!

Add 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon of white sugar to a small saucepan. Cook the swirl mixture for 5 minutes over medium heat, mashing the berries with a potatoe masher while stirring frequently. When finished, the mixture should be thick and the berries broken down. Set aside and let cool to room temperature. Use as a topping to My Signature Pancakes or Blueberry Streusel Muffins.

Is there such thing as too much fresh basil? I can’t eat enough caprese salads or pasta to keep up with the amount of basil growing in our backyard! Making a batch of pesto is the easiest way to use up plenty of fresh basil before it goes bad. Here are some of my favourite ways to enjoy pesto: Pasta Sauce – Mix a few spoonfuls with EVOO and toss with a bowl of fresh pasta. Damn good chicken marinade – Marinate chicken in 1/4C pesto, 1/4C chopped sundried tomatoes, a handful of cherry tomatoes, 1/4C toasted pine nuts, and dash of balsamic vinegar. As a spread on sandwiches or wraps. BBQ Roasted Veggie – Mix pesto with chopped veggies before placing on BBQ. Portobello Mushrooms – Marinate large portobello mushrooms in a mixture of pesto, balsamic, and honey. Grill for 8 minutes per side on a medium heat BBQ. Top with a healthy dose of burrata cheese and a sprinkling of pecans and peaches. If you have a food processor, this recipe will …

The first time I read about slow-roasted tomatoes was in Gwenyth Paltrow’s cookbook, “My Father’s Daughter”. She claims to have a constant supply of freshly roasted tomatoes in her fridge to add to any dish during the week. I immediately thought, why would anyone dedicate hours to something like this? That was until this Sunday, when I spent 3 hours roasting these bad boys. The aroma that slowly develops is good enough to turn into a candle (that must be someone’s job, right?). I can’t wait to use these in a delicious soup I have planned for the week!

This basic recipe is one I learned at an Italian cooking school here in Toronto, so I’d like to think of it as traditional…enough. I’ve used this recipe for everything from ravioli and pappardelle, to the spinach fettucine here. Every once in awhile, after a hard week, there’s nothing I enjoy more than dedicating an entire Sunday to making fresh pasta dough (is that weird?). I do have a roller, but no cutter so yes it tends to take the entire day! The ingredients and process itself really is quite simple, so if you’re up for the time challenge….read on and prepare